White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was reportedly stunned to learn that the FBI, under former President Joe Biden, subpoenaed her phone records in 2022 and 2023 as part of federal investigations into President Donald Trump.
Wiles — who managed President Trump’s 2024 campaign and is now serving as his chief of staff — told associates, “I am in shock,” according to a Thursday report from Axios.
The subpoenas were first disclosed by Reuters. They were issued during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump’s efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election and his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
According to Fox News, the subpoenaed records included toll data — such as phone numbers and the dates and times of calls — but did not include the content of conversations.
Context of the Investigations
Smith brought charges against Trump in 2023, accusing him of multiple felony offenses related to alleged efforts to contest the 2020 election results and his retention of classified materials. Trump denied any wrongdoing in both cases.
The election interference case was later dismissed by a federal judge after Smith moved to drop the charges following Trump’s re-election. Smith also withdrew the Justice Department’s appeal in the separate classified documents case after that case was dismissed.
The disclosure that Wiles’ phone records were subpoenaed adds a new dimension to scrutiny surrounding the scope and tactics of the investigations, particularly given her central role in Trump’s political operation.
Recorded Phone Call With Attorney
In a separate development, two FBI officials told Fox News that in 2023 the FBI recorded a phone call between Wiles and her attorney. The officials said Wiles’ attorney was aware the call was being recorded and gave consent, though Wiles herself did not.
The circumstances surrounding that recording have raised additional questions about investigative procedures during the prior administration.
Patel Responds
Current FBI Director Kash Patel, whose own phone records were also reportedly subpoenaed, strongly criticized the prior leadership’s actions.
“It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight,” Patel told Fox News on Wednesday.
Patel recently announced that he ended the FBI’s ability to categorize files as “Prohibited,” a classification he said limited oversight and transparency.
Fox News also reported that at least 10 FBI employees were fired Wednesday, though their names were not released due to privacy considerations.
